Modern combustion engines may include one or more cylinders as part of the engine. The cylinder head and an associated piston may define a combustion chamber therebetween. Fuel for combustion is directly injected into the combustion chamber by, for example, a fuel injector which is associated with the cylinder, the fuel injector having at least one orifice disposed such that it can directly inject fuel into the combustion chamber.
Different mixtures and/or equivalence ratios of the fuel/air mixture may produce different results during combustion. A manner in which the injected fuel mixes and/or interacts with air and other environmental elements of the combustion chamber may impact the combustion process and associated emissions. Further, if the fuel and air mixing is inadequate, a larger amount of soot may form within the combustion chamber.
Ducted assemblies may be implemented in combustion engines to enhance mixing and reduce the amount of soot formed within the combustion chamber. The ducted assemblies include one or more tubular structures known as ducts coupled to the cylinder head. The ducts are positioned relative to the fuel injector such that the ducts receive fuel jets from the at least one orifice of the fuel injector. The fuel jets interact with the ducts to enhance mixing, thereby reducing the amount of soot formed. The orientation of the fuel jets relative to the ducts plays a vital role in achieving optimal operation of the ducted assemblies.
During operation of the engine, the fuel injector and/or the ducts may wear and may eventually fail. Replacing or repairing the fuel injector in such configurations may include de-coupling of the cylinder head from the cylinder block, manually aligning the ducts relative to the orifice of new/repaired fuel injector and re-coupling the cylinder head. Similarly, replacing or repairing the ducts may include de-coupling of the cylinder head from the cylinder block, manually aligning new/repaired ducts relative to the orifice of fuel injector and re-coupling the cylinder head. Such replacement/repairing processes may include cumbersome operations that require skilled labor, which may increase the cost of operation. Further, the removal of the cylinder head and alignment of the ducts relative to the fuel injector is a laborious and a time-consuming task. This may lead to considerable machine downtime which is undesirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,082 (hereinafter referred to as U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,082) relates to a fuel injector. U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,082 discloses the fuel injector having a tubular injector body. Within the tubular body of the injector includes a seat (i.e. a bore) that houses a tubular valve body (i.e. check). The injector meters fuel into the engine cylinder. The injector body seals within the head to complete the combustion cylinder.